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Broken headboards, flooding, fire damage and stained mattresses are the most common forms of damage done by Scottish students in their halls of residence. New figures show that universities in Scotland have suffered over £600,000 worth of damage by their own students in the last five years, with an average of seven new cases each day.

Figures have been taken from all of Scotland's 21 universities since the year 2006, with the total amount of damage adding up to £610,000, spread over 14,000 different cases.

Aberdeen University has the dubious honour of having the most reckless students, as it recorded £144,000 worth of damage in the past five years. However, the university claimed that the vast majority of the damage caused was simply through everyday use and that very few students are ever fined for damage to their rooms:

"Most of the damage is identified once the students have vacated the property and it is unlikely to lead to disciplinary action...Students who have persisted in causing vandalism have been evicted from student residences."

The landscape of the UK higher education system has gone through a huge process of change over the past year and the effects this change will bring are still largely unknown. One group of students who face increasing uncertainty over their position in the system are foreign students. With international student visas becoming harder to obtain and EU students facing the same increased fees as UK students, many feel that overseas students are being marginalised.

A recent study (Patterns and Trends in UK Higher Education) showed that international student numbers have increased hugely in the last decade, but as the new rules are introduced, the real question is whether this trend can continue.

Increased Tuition Fees

There are a number of issues to be considered when addressing this question. First of all, there is the fact that EU students, just like British students, are facing the new £9,000 a year tuition fees from 2012 onwards. This sudden tripling of the fees will inevitably make European students think twice about coming to study in the UK, especially when there is already more expense and effort involved to study outside of their own country.